A Maruti WagonR Story - The blue eyed boy

This is a discussion on A Maruti WagonR Story - The blue eyed boy within Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; This is something about how I met my first love on four wheels. I have covered 9000 kms so far, ...

This is something about how I met my first love on four wheels. I have covered 9000 kms so far, so expect this to be a initial report cum 2 years ownership report as well!

You might find this report not complying to the team-bhp quality, but I will try to make it a interesting read covering all the facts. Pardon me if I don't remember all the dates exactly, as it was the time when I never knew what documenting and all was!
The Beginning:

It was around July 2010, and dad was hinting that he wanted to move onto a four wheeler after riding our faithful RX100(I miss you) for 16 long years. It had served us well all these years, without a glitch. With my sister growing up, even the autos(if we got hold of one) in Mumbai refused to ply 4 of us. That was the time dad was looking forward to get a car for us.

Initial budget was set at about 2.5 lakhs. It had to be a basic car, as none of us were confident about driving a 4 wheeler. Me and dad had some lessons on my uncles car, but all was in a closed compound. We both though, had a valid 4 wheeler license. Its easy to get one and every Tom, Dick and harry can have it.

In the initial budget, the only cars that crossed my mind were, the Nano and the hot selling Alto. Reminder: Its the 2010 scene and there were no eons at that time. Not keen on a Nano, we were looking forward to buy the alto. MSIL also being the family favourite, helped the case. A couple of visits to Laxmi Cars(now closed) were made and alto almost decided.

The decision was made, but some problems in the family, and hence the finances going down, the plan was postponed. I was heartbroken. But as it goes "jo hota hai acche k liye hota hai"(everything happens for the better), it was as destiny took me.

In the mean time, I got interested about cars. Magazines were read, TV commercials were closely followed, sites were surfed, but somehow, I did not get onto TeamBHP! regret!

Come October 2010, and dad again gets serious about the car. This time, the budget raised to about 3.5 lakhs. Alto K10 was released by the time, and I was very keen on it. Also, I was eying the new WagonR k10 and the Estilo. This time around, dad wanted me to stick to MSIL. Our family has done so for years. With 6 MSIL cars in the near around family, and none of them facing a trouble, dad was hellbent towards Maruti. So, even before I could do some kind of a research, the brand was decided.

I got onto the Magazines, youtube videos, google, and every possible source. I might have come across team-BHP at this stage, but I don't actually recollect.

After research, which did not consist of any test-drives, remember, none of us were too confident of driving a 4 wheeler, we came onto the conclusion, that Alto k10 was the best for our needs.Contenders:

A-star: A bit above the budget and was not impressed with the rear seat space.

Estilo: Bit above the budget. Wagon R in around the same price.
WagonR: Above the budget. Was impressed by the rear space and the interior design, as compared to the alto. I spent more time in the WagonR than the k10 for which we were there.

Alto k10: Not so great rear space, but the 998cc k series seemed promising. An uncle, who had test driven the alto, was also impressed by the engine. Above all, it was in the budget.

So, Alto k10 it was.

By the time, my uncle had already talked to a friend of his, who works in maruti about our purchase decision. He guided us to the Sai Service, Malad (W), where a friend of his worked and requested us to get in touch with him. The car was going to come from Sai Service, Malad.

All this research, got me to the end of the September. I was doing my engineering then, and had some training for 2 days, 20th and 21st September. Dad was to go out of town on 22nd September, and the booking had to be done before that. It was the 21st of September, I was out in a factory, when dad calls me and the conversation goes something like this:

D(dad): We are going to book the alto k10 now. Would you be able to make it to the showroom on time?

M(me): No way you are going today, I want to come.

D: Come directly to the showroom, it will stay open till 7. We will wait there.

M: There is no way I can make it by 7.(I was at Airoli till 5:30 and by no way I could have made it to Malad by 7.)

D: Okay, we are going there now, will call you up from there.

The alto k10 almost had been booked, dad signed all the papers, but it was decided that the booking amount will be given the next day, when I would be taking a final look and the color.

The Booking:It was the the 22nd of September, when I, my mom and my sis landed up at the dealer's showroom. There were 4 cars on display, A-star, WagonR CNG Lxi, Alto K10Lxi, and an alto. Both, the WagonR and the k10 were placed beside each other. I sat in both of them, and the difference blew me out. We were accompanied by my uncles, who have immense driving experience. They had driven both these cars before.

Going ahead, we started to discuss the finances. We were quoted something 3.78L for the Altok10 Vxi and 3.5L for the k10 Lxi. I don't remember the exact prices now. I was keen on the Vxi, as I wanted the accessories factory fitted. My uncle, causally asked about the WagonR lxi, and the quote was 4,18,656. We were told that there is a discount of Rs. 10,000 on the WagonR Lxi, which would bring it to Rs.4,08,656. The way I looked towards my mother, she understood that I wanted the WagonR and not the Alto. Some chat with my uncles, and even they were in favor of the WagonR. The high seating, more room, better egress/ingress made a difference.

So, in a matter of 5 minutes, I was convincing dad for the WagonR. Some talks, some convincing, some discussions about finances, and the choice was made, WagonR Lxi it was going to be. I would have loved to have a tacho on my instrument cluster, that was the only thing I would be missing from an alto Vxi. I even asked the SA, that is it possible to swap the dashboards of the Wagonr Lxi with the Vxi.

The SA agreed to transfer the booking from Alto to the WagonR. Remember, dad had signed on Alto papers earlier.

Now, which color? Mom wanted white, I wanted Baker's Chocolate. Sis was on my side, which made it even heavier. So, Baker's Chocolate it was. Paid the booking amount of Rs. 10,000 then and there. Called and informed dad about the done procedure.
The Waiting:

Its the first car and who would like to be waiting for the first car? Delivery was quoted as 26th November. That meant, 1 month of wait and watch. Those 30 days were going to be the most difficult days of my life.
The SA used to get regular calls from me, and I appreciate his patience in answering all the calls with whatever status he had about the car.

I was so excited, that I myself went to the showroom to inquire about the car! I was told that as and when it is dispatched from the company, I would be getting a call. Finally, on 23rd of November, I got a call from the SA that my car has been dispatched from the company and would be arriving here on the 1st. We were told to make the balance payment immediately. I was not aware at that time about any sorts of PDI, so we went ahead with the payment. on 26th November, which was an auspicious day for us, the remaining payment of Rs. 4,08,656 was made. No, I did not take any loans.
The Delivery:

We wanted the car at the earliest, who doesn't? The car arrived at the dealer warehouse, Vasai on the 1st, as was told before. The SA told, that the earliest we can get the delivery was by the 3rd. We agreed.

Called the dealer up on the 2nd and he informed that all the paperwork is done(registered) and I can collect the car tomorrow.
All done, on the 3rd of December 2010, equipped with a box of sweet, and full of excitement, I reached the showroom at around 6:00PM. I saw her there for the first time. My uncle, who lives nearby had accompanied us, earlier as well as today.

We were taken into the details of the papers. Checked all of them and found everything to be perfect. Came out, did a brief pooja, with the coconut breaking and all and then I started the car. The feeling of starting your call is something that cannot be explained. I moved it a little, and then, let my uncle take over the wheel. The vehicle had 101 kms on the ODO. Reasonable, as the car had to be driven to thane from Vasai and back to Malad. We were given a 5ltrs of fuel coupon. Thanked the SA, and drove out.

Filled 5ltrs from the petrol bunk, and an additional Rs.1000 worth of fuel. Went to a nearby temple, where we thanked God and then were on the way back. My uncle dropped us and the car to our place.

Would like to give a to the dealer for delivering the car within 3 days from him receiving it.
Also, kudos to the SA, Mr. Suhas Mahadik, who bore the brunt of my excitement and then too answered all my calls with patience.
Finally, I was the owner of a brand new WagonR.

The very next day, I drove her for the first time. Went to a temple, had the pooja done and then went for a ride till the accessories shop.

Got following accessories fitted.

Another set of floor mats. Dad wanted. The ones given by Maruti were of good quality, but dad insisted.

Bumper guards.

Door guards.

5V accessory socket.

Leather seat covers.

Body cover.

Already was over budget, so left the much needed music for some other time. Till then, my phone was to suffice.

Exterior:

Not much has changed since the Wagon R had first made its entry in the basic hatchback segment. It was boxy, it still is boxy and it is meant to be. If you are in the market for a looker, this should not feature even in the option list. The design is a sore point of the car, but as a coin has two sides, it also is a plus point owing the space it provides.

New Wagon R comes the blue tinted parking lamps, the name "Blue eyed boy" derived from that. The lights are sufficient for city driving, but if you are thinking of venturing out on the highways, think of better bulbs.

The sheet metal used here is of very very thin quality. No doubt there are a number of wagon R's with dented bodies. A more than normal force is enough to have the body caved in. Doors are of thin quality and hence no THUD here. Panel gaps are huge at places. The bonnet has a huge gap with the body and some might mistaken it for open.

Interior:

Open the really W-I-D-E opening doors and get in, you are greeted by a huge and an airy cabin. Large windows make the cabin feel all the more huge.

Getting into the drivers seat and one is greeted by an all new dashboard, if you are familiar with the old one. One of the best improvements in terms of design as per the older gen. The three spoke steering is great to hold and the dials fall in place. The plastic is not upto the mark and feels cheap.

Seats are good, though I would have liked a bit more cushioning. Under thigh support is sufficient. Seats are mechanically adjustable and finding a comfortable position is easy. Spending long hours at a stretch on these seats might be difficult, but just a couple of hours and you don't complain. I am not commenting on the rear seat comfort here because I have not been there for more than a couple of kms. The legroom is more than sufficient and it really did take me by surprise the first time I sat in there after being in an alto and an A-star.

The cabin does lack some cubby holes. There are only a couple that hold your mobile phone ahead of the gear lever. No bottle holders on any of the door makes it even worse. There are couple of retractable cup holders on the dash, that have some pathetic quality ever seen. A bottle holder for the rear passengers is there between the two front seats. It is not large enough to hold a 1 ltr tupperware bottle.

Air conditioning is good enough for for winters, but during the harsh summers, if you are out in the blazing sun, the dial would be mostly on the 3 or 4 position. The car gets really hot after standing in the sun and the aircon has a tough time cooling.

Engine:

The 1.0 K10 engine is a gem of an engine. The 3-pot does have vibrations at idle, but they disappear as the revs build up. My guess (no tacho), at around 1.2k RPM, they vanish and then the engine is one of the best to be revved. It is butter smooth and feels eager to rev.

The wagon R is infamous for its lack of power in the lower RPM's, but once you get familiar, its a pleasure to be with. Opposed to that, I feel the low end torque of the sx4's 1.6ltr mill is a sheer pleasure.

9k of her kms have mostly been covered in the city with some trips on the open roads out of the choc-a-block. On the highways, the 3-pot seems a bit lugging for power, especially if you have mighty SUV's and powerful sedans flashing lights on your RVM. All said, this car easily touches 3-digit speeds and has enough grunt to maintain them. On the Expressway, once had the chance to test her limits, and she happily revved up to 130kmph, but then slowed down to recommendable speeds. Those couple of seconds at, the engine seemed a bit noisy, and the tyre noise was also noticeable. Best recommended speeds are in the range of 80-110kmph, after that, it feels a bit unsafe, or at-least I feel so.

Ride and Handling:
The car came shod with the 13inch JK tyres, and now I know why they are not at all recommended by the gurus. A lot of tyre noise at high speeds and the rubber seems to be a bit too hard.

The steering is ultra-light. No extra effort required to maneuver the car at low speeds. The down-side, it does not weigh up at speeds either. At high speeds the steering is as light. Not much of confidence inspired.

The tall-boy stance means there is going to be loads of body roll as the theory suggests. Frankly, I have not been putting her into the corners, I am not confident of that kind of a driving yet, hence stayed away. No comments on it.

The suspension is finely tuned for the city. As per the reviews, it gets a bit bouncy on the rear seats and maybe that is the reason I am told to slow down as soon as I reach triple digits. Have never been in the rear seats so far for more than a couple of kms, but it did seem comfy.

The NVH levels are a tad too high as per what I have expected. The road noise filters in, the engine noise filters in if you revv it hard and even the suspension noise sometimes makes its way.

About the music
I am not a music buff and something that would soothe years was enough. Also, did not want to invest too much in setting up an ICE given that I would not be driving the car much.
Put it up with a pioneer DEH 2390UB with pioneer speakers on the 4-doors.

Provides a decent sound quality. I am not asking for anything more at the moment. Will go for an advanced setup sometime in future.

The Bad Times
The car was vandalized when it was parked in my building itself. Don't know who did that as there are no small kidos who would do such an act. Those couple of days were really painful, but then refrained from re-painting them as there are many who keep on scratching my car in the building.

Some random pictures for the viewing pleasure.

Finally, after starting with this review on the 22nd December, I have brought it to an end today. In the meantime drove for more 400 kms and the ODO presently stands at 9422 kms.
The "kitna-deti-hai" factor comes to around a 11kmpl. Considering that the car is brought out mostly on the city rides and that too for considerable short distances, would call it a strictly decent figure. Though was expecting around 13kmpl. On the highway run, it gets me around 17kmpl and with heavy right foot, it decreases to around 15kmpl.
All in all, it brings a smile to my face when I hold the steering with both my hands ready to put the pedal to the medal.

P.S.:
This being my first review and a first car as well, there are possiblites that I might have not lived up to the T-BHP standards, please pardon me for that.
The photographs have been taken from my mobile cam which unfortunately is a fixed focus one as I screwed up my digicam.

Anyways, it is really sad to see scratches on your beautoful Car. This indeed proves that Car is owners pride & others envy.

Your mileage figure of 11 KMPL in city is on lower side. I an getting atleast 12 KMPL in city & 18+ on highways. One of our friend on T-BHP managed to connect scanner to WagonR ECM & found that mileage is at its best when RPM's are between 2000 & 3500 in 3rd, 4th & 5th gears. After following this regime, my mileage figures have increased from 11 to 12.5 / 13 KMPL in city driving conditions.

Yes, I was following that thread. I liked the refreshed interiors and also I was in love with the new bumper. The grill, IMO doesn't suite the car. Just my personal opinion.

Quote:

Anyways, it is really sad to see scratches on your beautoful Car. This indeed proves that Car is owners pride & others envy.

I too felt like thrashing the person who did that(only if i knew), but then gained my cool. That feeling, we all know was there for a couple of weeks, but now a couple of more scratched by those maniacs have got me used to and hence have not re-painted them yet.

Quote:

Your mileage figure of 11 KMPL in city is on lower side. I an getting atleast 12 KMPL in city & 18+ on highways. One of our friend on T-BHP managed to connect scanner to WagonR ECM & found that mileage is at its best when RPM's are between 2000 & 3500 in 3rd, 4th & 5th gears. After following this regime, my mileage figures have increased from 11 to 12.5 / 13 KMPL in city driving conditions.

I agree, it is on the lower side. Would be performing the checks regularly.
I have gone through the post (Maruti WagonR : Test Drive & Review) you are talking about and that was a very enlightening post by audioholic.
Also, if you remember, I was the one who had requested you to provide the RPM vs Speed figures as LXi lacks a tacho.
I almost follow the same speeds, but then too, it looks as if something is wrong somewhere.

My SA suggested to tankful once, drive around a 50-100km and then again tankful. to get the exact figures without having to wait for the tank to get empty. Have to try that now!

I think you should install after market Tachometer. It will be worth the investment, specially while driving at lower speeds.

I understand the after market Tacho standing on dashboard does not look good, but given the current prices of fuel, increase of mileage from 11 KMPL to 12.5 KMPL will be a achievement. I guess I have suggested this once in past, if yes please excuse me.

Anyways do you have any thoughts of installing CNG kit? or you would not like to loose already limited boot space?

My SA suggested to tankful once, drive around a 50-100km and then again tankful. to get the exact figures without having to wait for the tank to get empty. Have to try that now!

A more accurate way to check your mileage would be to take your car to the dealership and tell them to empty the tank. Then pour 500ml of petrol and drive the car in constant speed till the petrol in the tank lasts and check the exact mileage.

I think you should install after market Tachometer. It will be worth the investment, specially while driving at lower speeds.

I understand the after market Tacho standing on dashboard does not look good, but given the current prices of fuel, increase of mileage from 11 KMPL to 12.5 KMPL will be a achievement. I guess I have suggested this once in past, if yes please excuse me.

Yes, you have suggested this to me on some other thread. Thinking on this part.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jignesh

Anyways do you have any thoughts of installing CNG kit? or you would not like to loose already limited boot space?

No plans yet to install a CNG kit as my running is quite low as per the present scenario. I use public transport daily which is the reason the car runs just about a 100 km monthly that too if theres a family outing around the town. Any plans getting a CNG kit for your vehicle? They prove very very VFM. In-fact just suggested a relative to go for a CNG vehicle instead of a petrol one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sommos

A more accurate way to check your mileage would be to take your car to the dealership and tell them to empty the tank. Then pour 500ml of petrol and drive the car in constant speed till the petrol in the tank lasts and check the exact mileage.

Thanks Sommos. At the next service would be trying that. But, isn't it advisable to never let your car run out of fuel completely? The impurities in the tank may the in the line.

Wagon R is really an amazing car.
During my stay in the US I had owned three cars at different times: a Civic, a Nissan Altima and then an Infiniti. Each of them was a gem to drive.

When I returned to India I had to get myself a car in Pune. I had to get a hatchback. Polo was ruled out due to the uncomfortable seating position. i10 and i20 were ruled out because we already had a Hyundai in the family. No Ford,Chevy or Tata.
I zeroed in on the all new Wagon R Lxi (2010 - K Series). The waiting period was 4 months but thanks to a good friend of mine got one delivered to me in 3 days!! I had to put down full cash for this though.

Silky silver was the unanimous choice in my family, I wanted the red one but common sense prevailed.

Bought the 1 year extended warranty, got a Sony ICE compatible with my iPhone and Xplods all around. I wanted remote locking, so got the factory unit from Nippon installed for 5k. Wanted to paint the ORVM to match the body colour but the service adviser recommended against it.
Its been 2 and a half years and it still rides like the day I bought it (well not really, but almost... I had to exaggerate!! )

I used to do Pune-Mumbai-Pune trips on the expressway. Early morning trips are so fun. I hit 160 for nearly 5-10 minutes when I am alone . When my car is loaded 140 to 150 is fun but only for a couple of minutes.
I was surprised to see these speeds on a humble Wagon R. Aerodynamics be damned!!

City driving is fun and I really feel in control. I hate to say this but sometimes I feel like an autowallah trying to squeeze through any available gaps in traffic. The effortless steering is commendable. This is one reason I decided on this car.
Suspension is good, nothing too great or bad about it.

Helped move my friends and their stuff to new locations. The boot could have been bigger but the 60:40 seats are magic.

I blast my music in the car, luckily the audio setup I chose was very good. On the flip side I feel that the occasional low humming noise (can't really call it a rattle) can be attributed to the speakers being placed inside the doors. The Xplods are probably too bass heavy for the car's speaker housing.

The only thing that bothers me with this car is that people still call it 'choti gadi'. Its a tallboy hatchback damn it!

This car is a very practical, no-nonsense car. I want to upgrade to a sedan or an SUV soon. However even an Amaze or an Etios is still not a substantial upgrade for me when compared to my Waggy. An EcoSport, maybe.
Till then I hope the blue eyed boy continues to make my eyes sparkle every time I crank the ignition.

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WagonR is keeping all faces happy in my family considering its capacity to transaport 5 adults comfortably owing to its good rear leg space. We got a White WagonR VXi in Oct 2012 and have completed 2700 kms till date. Below are some of the pointers:

1. Great rear room
2. Comfortable front seats (Got leather seat covers done (Black))
3. Nowadays temperatures in Bombay are hitting 32-35 plus and the AC seems to be a bit ineffective in 2nd position. need to notch it up to 3 for a while and then bring it back to 2.
4. Wafer thin sheet metal needs care
5. 1st and 2nd gears seem very short and have to very quickly move on to 3rd gear.
6. No niggles till date. hope it remains that way.
7. I find slotting gear in reverse position a bit stiff.
8. Kitna deti hain ?? 13 - 14 on my daily runs from Borivali to Powai.
9. A very faint hum is coming most probably from the AC (not sure though) when I press the accelerator pedal specially in 3rd gear. not sure what this is ? any idea guys ?